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Mar 26 The Calling: Summit

This weekend the 2015 Rapha Women's ambassadors will be traveling to Texas Hill Country to ride together for the first time. Veteran ambassador Abby Watson will be taking over the Pretty Damned Fast Instagram account from March 27-29 to give our readers a first hand look at what these awesome female cyclists get into. To kick off the weekend, we had Abby and fellow ambassadors Lindsay Knight, Elizabeth "Bud" Reeder, and Kelton Wright answer some questions about what The Calling is all about.

Tell us about Abby

Abby is the Finance Manager for Rapha North America. She lives in Portland, OR with her husband Greg and dog Zoey. She rides road bikes before sunrise, mountain bikes through the woods, and has been known to express her personal style through nail polish.

Tell us about Lindsay

She lives in Chicago, Illinois where she races cyclocross and road for Heritage Race Club. She works with youth at Blackstone Bicycle Works, a non-profit that engages underserved youth from the South Sides of Chicago.

Tell us about Bud

She bakes cookies every Tuesday night, lives in Orange County, and works for Oakley. She rides her bike every day.

Tell us about Kelton

Kelton is an author and cyclist based in Los Angeles. She began riding in 2012 in Boulder, Colorado, commuting 16 miles a day on a mountain bike before someone lent her a road bike for the weekend.

Photo by Chris Bacarella

What does it mean to be a Rapha ambassador?

“Being a Rapha Ambassador has been a very unique experience - it has really helped me become more engrained to the women's cycling world which has been a HUGE motivation for me personally. It is really cool to be noticed in the bike community now for helping women feel empowered on the bike.”

-Bud

“Being a Rapha Ambassador means you want to ride your bike in a way that encourages other women to give it a try, ride further, try a race, set a new goal, go for an adventure, meet some new friends and generally just have a good time riding your bike while pushing your limits.”

- Abby

Being a Rapha ambassador means when people see you out on the road, they know they can join, they know you can help, and they know that you’re a comrade who’s in it with them. 

— Kelton

What is The Calling Summit?

We’ll let you know! It’s kind of our kick-off Rapha Ambassador event for the year, a chance for us to meet each other, learn about the product and collaborate. We get to ride, hang out and just geek out on cycling for 3 days straight with a pretty diverse and incredible group of 18 women.

The routes will start in Fredericksburg, TX and include riding up the largest pink granite rock, known as Enchanted Rock, and a loop called Willow City.

For The Summit in Texas, what are you most excited about?

“Clearly the BBQ, figuring out a new name for my Trek Slique, seeing the girls - comparing nails, riding, the list goes on....” -Bud

“I'm giddy to ride my bike in a kit with short sleeves (!!!) and talk-ride-live bikes with one fantabulous group of ladies.” -Lindsay

"I'm excited to chase braids. I'm excited to say I rode 60 miles and not hear, 'whoa, that's far' but instead hear, 'any QOM's?' I'm excited to be around women who share my passion so wholeheartedly that I can talk in abbreviations and acronyms and shorthand references to climbs and descents and detours. " -Kelton

Photo by Emily Maye

What are you nervous about?

“Honestly? About making my flight connection - I have had horrible juju this year when it comes to flying. From a bike perspective? I am a little nervous about riding, I've been trying to overcome some growing (older) pains lately.” – Bud

“Partly, that my nail game will be lacking. Mostly, that my ability to climb hills in the real-live-outdoors was destroyed by this (apparently neverending...) wretchedly cold winter...and Bud and Abby will drop me on the first climb.” Lindsay

"I’m not really nervous, just excited! Maybe a bit nervous that I’ll chip a nail on day 1 and have to deal with chipped nail polish for the next 4 days, that drives me nuts. I think the riding will be doable; no one is out for glory in this group. It’s so rare that we get to see each other that the riding will hopefully be more social than competitive.” -Abby

"It's been a year since I could hide safely in the status of novice. Some 4000 miles later, I have to show physically what a year has enabled me to accomplish. I don't want to be seen as cute or charming. I want to be seen as a competitor worthy of being on the team." - Kelton